Dina’s Success
Though going out to the Chivvite women ultimately resulted in misfortune for Dina, this was merely in order to serve as a consequence for Yaakov—as Rashi mentions above—and not as a result of any misdeed on Dina’s part.
Dina’s actions in and of themselves were pure, and she intended to venture out to the women of the city, in order to have a positive influence on them and encourage them to follow the ways of G-d.
Furthermore it can be said, that these efforts ultimately had a positive effect, and the people of Shechem were indeed changed over for the better on some level.
After Dina was taken by Shechem, her brothers Shimon and Levi came to avenge the honor of Yaakov’s family. Before slaying the males, they made a treaty with the people of the city, requiring all the males to receive a bris milah (circumcision). The Torah tells relates,
Text 8
And all those coming out of the gate of his city listened to Chamor and his son Shechem, and every male, all who went out of the gate of his city, became circumcised.
Bereishis 34:24
Dina, was indeed successful in converting an entire city to the Judaism of the time as the circumcision deemed them as authentic converts.
Though in the end the males of Shechem were killed by Shimon and Levi for their sin of protecting Shechem, for that short period of time they actually entered into a covenant with Avraham’s family and became Jewish according to the standard of the time.
This elevated status of becoming more connected to G-dliness was fulfilled with the Chivitte women as well, being that they were brought as captives to Yaakov’s family at the conclusion of the incident. By means of becoming maids in the house of Yaakov, they learned from the ways of Torah and were expected to follow them as well.
We therefore find that the women, whom Dina originally sought out to affect, were, in reality, joined to the family of Yaakov—as they became maidservants in his house.
Dina’s work in transforming the people around her was not for naught and her deeds had great impact on the city.
Dina did nothing wrong in going out to affect the Chivvite people. On the contrary, it was only good. She learned this trait from her mother, who like her, also used her nature as an extrovert for the positive. It was only because of her father’s actions that the story ended in calamity.
